Abstract
There are a number of physiological changes that occur with aging that make the older adult more susceptible to traumatic wounds, as well as pressure ulcers following a traumatic injury. Nursing care of wounds in the older adult trauma patient should include control of comorbidities, particularly those that may inhibit wound healing. Additional risk factors for the older adult that can impair the wound-healing process include dehydration, malnutrition, unresolved pressure/shear and friction, excessive skin moisture, pruritus and dry skin, increased levels of wound exudate, and inappropriate management of wound exudate [1].
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Tickle J. Managing wounds in older people: the risk of skin damage from high-exudate levels. Br J Community Nurs. 2016;21(3):S20–4.
Htwe TH, Mushtaq A, Robinson SB, Rosher RB, Khardori N. Infection in the elderly. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2007;21(3):711–43.
High KP. Infection in the elderly. In: Halter JB, Ouslander JG, Tinetti ME, Studenski S, High KP, Asthana, editors. Hazzard’s geriatric medicine and gerontology. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2009. p. 1507–15.
Boltz M, Capequti E, Fulmer T, Zwicker D. Evidence-based geriatric nursing protocols for best practice. 4th ed. New York: Springer Publishing Company; 2012.
Wade C, Kozar R, Dyer C, Bulger E, Mourtzakis M, Heyland D. Evaluation of nutrition deficits in adult and elderly trauma patients. J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2015;39(4):449–55.
Baumgarten M, Margolis DJ, Berlin JA, Strom BL, Garino J, Kagan SH, Carson JL. Risk factors for pressure ulcers among older hip fracture patients. Wound Repair Regen. 2003;11(2):96–103.
Houwing RH, Rozendaal M, Wouters-Wesseling W, Beulens JW, Buskens E, Haalboom JR. A randomized, double-blind assessment of the effect of nutritional supplementation on the prevention of pressure ulcers in hip-fracture patients. Clin Nutr. 2003;22(4):401–5.
Walker J. Pressure ulcers in cervical spine immobilization: a retrospective analysis. J Wound Care. 2012;21(7):323–7.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bortz, K. (2018). Geriatric Trauma Book: Skin. In: Rodriguez, A., Barraco, R., Ivatury, R. (eds) Geriatric Trauma and Acute Care Surgery . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57403-5_52
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57403-5_52
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-57402-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-57403-5
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)